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Arrest made in hammer attack

Suspect identified as Arenthius Jenkins, police say

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Updated: 10:49 PM EDT Apr 22, 2016

Two workers were severely injured Friday when they were attacked at a Volusia County home. The victims were beaten with hammers at a Daytona Beach home on Jefferson Street where they were working. Summer Knowles has the latest update.

Arrest made in hammer attack

Suspect identified as Arenthius Jenkins, police say

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Updated: 10:49 PM EDT Apr 22, 2016

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. —

Two workers were severely injured Friday when they were attacked at a Volusia County home.

The victims, Terrance Gross, 55, and Billy Ford, 60, were beaten with hammers at a Daytona Beach home on Jefferson Street where they were working.

The suspect, Arenthius Jenkins, 32, was taken into custody on Friday.

The men are in critical condition. One man might not survive, according to officials. The men, who were contracted to work on a vacant house, were suddenly attacked by the 32-year-old who lives next door, police said.

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"He's not a person like that, he would never hurt nobody. The voices in his head made him do that," said Cheryl Barron, the suspect's mother.

The mother of the suspect, who was arrested at the scene, said she was overcome with grief for her son and for the men he is accused of attacking with two hammers that were found lying on the ground in front of the home.

Barron said her son has mental health issues and that's the only thing that could explain a random attack.

"My son is a good boy, he didn't mean to do that. He heard voices in his head. And will you all please pray for my son, please? I pray for the family, too," Barron said.

Police found the two victims outside the house and the suspect, who was still holding the hammer, according to authorities.

"There was two guys, (the suspect) beat two guys with hammers about the head and body. (He) just walked up on them and hit them," Daytona Beach Deputy Chief Craig Capri said.

Police don't know if there was some kind of fight or if the workers and the suspect exchanged words, but the suspect's mother and other family and friends at the scene said the suspect had been recently disturbed about a cousin's death and was not thinking straight. His mother said that not long before the attack, another son tried to get the suspect committed to a mental health facility, but it didn't happen.

"I tried to get my baby help, and my baby just went to the court to get a petition to put him in a place. He went today," Barron said.

Police are interviewing the suspect, who spoke briefly to his mother.

"He didn't say anything to me. He was in the police car. He just said, 'Mama, I love you' and I told him I love him, too,'" Barron said.

"I am so sorry to the families, this is not my nephew," said Tanya Williams, who said she was shocked to learn her nephew had been arrested for allegedly attacking two men with a hammer in Daytona Beach on Friday afternoon.

When officers arrived, they said a man was dressed in black holding two bloody hammers, both tagged as evidence at the scene. Police said a two-by-four was also used in the attack.

Jenkins is charged with aggravated battery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

"We've been very concerned about him. It's just that our actions didn't happen in time," Williams said.

The suspect's family said that although he has been arrested in Volusia County several times before, he's never been violent, but they acknowledge that he has been struggling with drug use and mental illness and said that they have been trying to get him help for a while.

"Today, just this morning, his brother, who took him to the hospital last night for the second time, went to the court to file the paperwork to have him Baker Acted, and yes, my nephew mentioned to me that the police officers saw the Baker Act had come through," Williams said.

The suspect's mother and other family members are asking for prayers all around for their family as well as the victims and their families.

"We are a praying family and we pray that everything will be OK, even though it's not looking good, not just for my nephew, but just for the sake of them. If he had been in his right mind, he would never do anything like this, and my heart just goes out to these two men who are fighting for their lives," Williams said.

"I'm worried for the family too, pray for them, too. I want everybody to pray for them, too," Barron said.

"It's heart wrenching. No one should be in this situation, and I wish this country would take a better look at its policies and how it deals with mental health. It's a real issue a sad issue," Williams said.